Steve Blum
| birth_place = Santa Monica, California, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | alias = David Lucas | occupation = Voice actor | years_active = 1992–present | status = | spouse = | children = 3 | domestic_partner= | agent = Arlene Thornton and Associates | URL = }} Steven Jay Blum ( ; born April 29, 1960) | access-date= }} is an American voice actor of anime, animation and video games known for his distinctive deep voice. He provides the voice of TOM, the host of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim's Toonami programming block. Some of his major roles in anime include Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bebop, Mugen in Samurai Champloo, Guilmon and Mitsuo Yamaki in Digimon Tamers, Eikichi Onizuka in Great Teacher Onizuka and Orochimaru and Zabusa Momochi in Naruto. In animation, he provides the voices for Starscream in Transformers: Prime, Shishio in Rurouni Kenshin, Vilgax, Heatblast and Ghostfreak in Ben 10, Amon in The Legend of Korra, Wolverine in Wolverine and the X-Men and Zeb Orrelios in Star Wars Rebels. He was awarded the Guinness World Record for being the most prolific video game voice actor in 2012, with roles in series such as Call of Duty, God of War, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, Naruto, X-Men and Transformers. In 2014, he voiced Shoe and Sparky in the stop motion animated film The Boxtrolls. In 2015, he participated in The Incredible True Story, a hip hop album/motion picture by Logic. Career His credits include the voice of Spike Spiegel in the anime show Cowboy Bebop; Zeb Orrelios in Star Wars Rebels; Mugen in Samurai Champloo; Roger Smith from The Big O; Orochimaru, Zabuza, Ōnoki and Ao in the Naruto anime and Wolverine in numerous games and in the animated series Wolverine and the X-Men, the animated movie Hulk Vs, The Super Hero Squad Show and Marvel Anime: X-Men. He also provided the voice of Jack Cayman, the main character of the video game MadWorld; Captain Foley, the venerable company commander, and Tank Dempsey, the comic relief in the Call of Duty series; Professor Galvez in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker; Grayson Hunt, the main protagonist of Bulletstorm; and Gorim, Oghren, and First Enchanter Irving in the 2009 video game Dragon Age: Origins. He also provides the voice of Vincent Valentine in the Final Fantasy VII compilation. In September 2000, Blum voiced TOM, the robotic host of Cartoon Network's Toonami programming block. Blum replaced Sonny Strait in the character's second through fourth incarnations, until the cancellation of Toonami on September 20, 2008. When Toonami was revived on May 26, 2012, Blum returned as the voice of TOM. He is also the announcer for 7-Eleven's "Oh Thank Heaven" television and radio advertisements, and partnered with Vic Mignogna in the series Real Fans of Genius (a parody of Anheuser-Busch's Real Men of Genius radio ad campaign). He is also well known in American Union animation as the voices of Heatblast, Ghostfreak, and Vilgax in the Ben 10 franchise; Jamie in Megas XLR; Yakky Doodle and Clamhead in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law; Smytus in My Life as a Teenage Robot. He is also known for his voice portrayals of Starscream in Transformers: Prime; Count Vertigo in DC Showcase: Green Arrow and Young Justice; Red Skull, Beta Ray Bill and Wolverine in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes; Melbourne O'Riley in What's New, Scooby-Doo?; Amon in The Legend of Korra; and Zoltun Kulle in Diablo III. On June 5, 2012, he was awarded a Guinness World Record for being the most prolific video game voice actor, having 261 credited appearances on May 10. Filmography Anime Animation Film Video games Live-action Other Notes References * * }} Books cited * }} * | title = The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present |edition=9th | author-first1=Tim |author-last1=Brooks | authorlink1 = Tim Brooks (television historian) | author-first2=Earle F. | author-last2=Marsh | isbn = 9780307483201 | publisher = Random House Publishing Group | year = 2009 }} * | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YX_daEhlnbsC | title = Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 | edition=2d | first=Vincent |last=Terrace | isbn = 9780786486410 | publisher = McFarland | year = 2008 }} * | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=71GuAwAAQBAJ | title = Internet Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Television Series, 1998–2013 | first=Vincent | last=Terrace | publisher = McFarland | isbn = 9781476616452 | year=2014 }} External links * * * * Steven Blum at Behind The Voice Actors * * – David Lucas explains the reasons for being a separate identity from Steve Blum. Category:1960 births Category:Living people Category:American male video game actors Category:American male voice actors Category:Jewish American male actors Category:Male actors from Santa Monica, California Category:Science fiction fans Category:20th-century American male actors Category:21st-century American male actors